Audio watermarks are embedded into audio signals to carry hidden data that can be used in a wide variety of practical applications. For example, to monitor the distribution of media content and/or advertisements, such as television broadcasts, radio broadcasts, streamed multimedia content, etc., audio watermarks carrying media identification information can be embedded in the audio portion(s) of the distributed media. During a media presentation, the audio watermark(s) embedded in the audio portion(s) of the media can be detected by a watermark detector and decoded to obtain the media identification information identifying the presented media.
In some examples, the audio source provided to a media device is a multichannel audio signal. In such examples, watermarks are embedded in specific subchannels of the multichannel audio signal by the media provider. However, a media provider embedding watermarks into improper audio subchannels or improperly synchronizing the timing of the embedded watermarks across audio subchannels can lead to one or more undesirable results, including the watermarks no longer being detectable by detection hardware or the watermarks becoming perceptible to the end user. With the current state of the technology, issues with audio channel mapping and timing can go undetected and therefor unaddressed for extended periods of time, which can have an adverse effect on the ratings of programs with improperly embedded audio watermarks.